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<title>the school bus by nikolantzov (sunstrucked)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24962083">the school bus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunstrucked/pseuds/nikolantzov'>nikolantzov (sunstrucked)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Goodbyes, Grief, Post-The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo), can you tell im suck at tags?, dream - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:29:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24962083</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunstrucked/pseuds/nikolantzov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She thought about those nights. Those nights where she refused to fall asleep. Those nights where she would force herself out of exhaustion with coffees and caffeine pills. She kept herself occupied with activities for days; setting up her new home, practicing her combat skills, she even tried her hand at baking a couple of times although failing horribly. She did all that to keep her thoughts at bay, keeping any memories and dreams of him at a safe distance, because truthfully, she was terrified to confront them. But, there was only so much she could do and so many energy drinks her body could take. Eventually, she passed out. Which was probably how she ended up in this godsforsaken bus.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jason Grace/Piper McLean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the school bus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Piper woke up on the backseat of a school bus. </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes fluttered open softly like she was expecting something before her to appear. The vehicle was empty. The twin rows of seats before her were unoccupied. The interior of the bus was eerily clean, as if it had been through a thorough cleaning, washing off every trace of juvenile vandalism etched on the walls and leftover chewing gums stuck on to the ceiling. The vehicle wasn’t moving for there was no hum of an engine nor a driver. Over the window was a pure white scenery that seemed to go on forever.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, she didn’t even realize that her hand was holding on to someone else’s, if it weren’t for the familiar thumb brushing against her skin, she would have never registered it. Because having that hand resting against hers was not an anomaly. It was something that she had grown accustomed to. It felt almost <em> right </em>, like she was home, like everything was falling in a place where they were supposed to be. Keyword : almost.</p><p> </p><p>Even her weary mind knew that was not how this was supposed to be. That hand should no longer be holding hers. She should no longer be holding on to it.</p><p> </p><p>It took everything in her to turn towards the person sitting next to her. The boy was facing the window as if examining the non-existent scenery. His other hand resting on the windowsill, fingers brushing on the glass. He was warm, almost too warm, too real.</p><p> </p><p>“Jason?”</p><p> </p><p>When he turned to face her, Piper immediately unraveled under his gaze. She squeezed the hand inside her hold tightly, trying dearly to ground herself.</p><p> </p><p>It was definitely <em> him </em>. Dressed in a clean white shirt and a pair of dress pants, the exact same ensemble of clothes that he died in but without the trace of blood soaking through. He looked young. Just the way Piper remembered him from that morning on the school bus trip to the Grand Canyon. His hair was short and neatly brushed, his complexion was pale with a hint of rosy tint on his cheeks, his lip scar was the only mark etched to his skin.</p><p> </p><p>He smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello.”</p><p> </p><p>Piper reached out to stroke her fingers on his cheek almost immediately, registering each streak ever so intently, taking in the situation as she let go of Jason’s hold so she could cup his face with both hands. As the warmth of his face slowly crept into her skin, she could feel her ribs opening up, allowing her to draw a long breath without burning her lungs.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s you,” she managed, “it’s really you.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, his smile growing wider, eyes sparkling with joy over her recognition. </p><p> </p><p>Piper exhaled, pulling him closer. She wrapped her arms around his figure, drowning herself in his all-consuming warmth. It had been months since she let herself do that; giving in into his touch. That night when she told Jason she wanted to break up, he pulled into a soul-crushing hug and just held her there for so long before they eventually bid their goodbyes. There was something about Jason’s hug that always made her feel safe and grounded. It was the way she could sense his heartbeat underneath his chest, the calming thuds against her rapid ones, like her own living pacemaker. But now, hers was the only beating core between them. </p><p> </p><p>Piper pulled away, but kept her arms on the sides of his waist. </p><p> </p><p>“But you’re not real are you?”</p><p> </p><p>Now it was his turn to trace his finger on her cheek, “no, baby.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is this a dream?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, “a long overdue one.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“I was kinda hoping to meet you sooner, Pipes,” he leaned against the seat, his shoulders relaxed, “I miss you.”</p><p> </p><p>Piper shrugged, her lips curved into a bitter smile, her gaze fell upon her lap. She thought about those nights. Those nights where she refused to fall asleep. Those nights where she would force herself out of exhaustion with coffees and caffeine pills. She kept herself occupied with activities for days; setting up her new home, practicing her combat skills, she even tried her hand at baking a couple of times although failing horribly. She did all that to keep her thoughts at bay, keeping any memories and dreams of him at a safe distance, because truthfully, she was terrified to confront them. But, there was only so much she could do and so many energy drinks her body could take. Eventually, she passed out. Which was probably how she ended up in this godsforsaken bus.</p><p> </p><p>“I miss you too,” she said. “We didn’t get to say our goodbyes.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry about that,” he squeezed her hand. “But I need you to know, that I did not regret my actions.”</p><p> </p><p>“How-” the word was caught in her throat. She paused. Gathering herself. “How could you say that?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m right where i’m supposed to be, Pipes. I’ve fulfilled the exact prophecy I'm supposed to fulfill.”</p><p> </p><p>For a moment silence fell between them. Piper braved herself to study the boy before her a little more carefully. He looked so relaxed, at-peace, almost <em> happy.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Why did you go?” Piper asked. “You’ve known how the quest was going to end, why did you still go?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was me or you and I very much couldn’t let it be you.” Jason said those words with such ease, looking straight into her eyes, “you would’ve done the same thing.”</p><p> </p><p>He was right. Of course he was right. Still, she wanted to blame herself or anyone else for that matter. She wanted to blame Apollo for dragging her and Jason into the mess. She wanted to blame Zeus for being ignorant. She wanted to blame Tempest for not arriving earlier. She even wanted to blame him for being so <em> good. </em>But what good would it bring her? Even avenging his death upon Caligula, no matter how much pleasure it would bring her,  wouldn’t bring him back. </p><p> </p><p>“Is it nice, over there, Elysium?” She eventually shifted the topic.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, which gave her a sense of relief. “Nico visited me a few days ago, he brought me a pie from Persephone’s kitchen.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, he can do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“He can do anything,” Jason said, “his father owns the goddamn place.”</p><p> </p><p>A wave of sheer joy washed over her. Both of them let out a giggle. The image of young Nico di Angelo strolling down the field of Elysium with a warm pie in his hand to visit her boyfriend actually brought her an odd sense of comfort. </p><p> </p><p>“How about you,” he brushed his thumb against, “how’s Oklahoma?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it’s not as nice as Elysium I imagined,” she chuckled, “but, it’s okay, better than California.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“I tried baking,” Piper brought her short-lived baking phase up, thinking it would definitely interest him. </p><p> </p><p>“Really?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, banana breads,” she said, “almost burned the house down twice but my dad said that it was not half bad.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”</p><p> </p><p>This brought Piper back to the days they spent back at camp, before the war, before the break up. Piper had told Jason that she wanted to take up archery lessons because she felt like it would be useful in their upcoming quest. Sure, she eventually learnt that she was absolutely terrible at it, even making a couple of Apollo campers storm off the arena out of frustration of watching her trying to prop an arrow on a bow. But the way Jason supported her, the way he comforted her after that class, was so assuring, that even Piper wouldn’t mind reliving that humiliating experience.  Jason was so <em> good, </em>it was almost infuriating.</p><p> </p><p>“It had been so long, that bus ride felt like ages ago.” Jason broke the silence. He scanned the bus, eyes hanging on the ceiling, “what was that thing that Leo made Hedge’s megaphone said?”</p><p> </p><p>“The cow says moo!”</p><p> </p><p>Piper and Jason broke into laughter. Jason gripping his stomach as she rested her hand on his lap. For a moment, everything felt so right.</p><p> </p><p>“So, how’s Leo?”</p><p> </p><p>And just like that Piper was back to that morning down in the airfield. Leo descending from the sky, all enthusiastic to meet both Jason and her. She remembered his wide child-like grin, his wild eyes, his <em> joy. </em> She also remembered him breaking down in her arm, his muffled cry, his hands gripping on her shoulders. One particular thing resonates in the back of her mind, Leo’s voice, ridden with loss and disappointment; ‘ <em> I didn't even get to say goodbye, he didn’t even get to punch me’. </em> </p><p> </p><p>“He’s okay, I guess,” Piper said, “he’s in Indianapolis now, opening up his own repair garage.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good for him!”</p><p> </p><p>“Jace,” she reached out. “Could you do me a favor? Could you visit him, please? Also give him a little smack on the arm.”</p><p> </p><p>“I-” there was doubt in his voice, he looked back out the window, as though looking for someone, but then he faltered, eyes back on her, smiling. “I will try.”</p><p> </p><p>Piper smiled fondly. Her mind replayed that day in the school bus. The very last day of her so-called normal life. It was the day where she technically first met Jason, though the little tinkering Hera did with her mind made her think that she had known (and loved) him for months. The memories felt so real and vivid that it took Piper a long time to come to terms with the fact that it didn’t actually happen. For a long time she had a hard time telling the difference between what was real and what was made up when it comes to her relationship with Jason. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you still love me?” </p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” he answered quickly, nursing her hands. “I was told long ago that I have met the love of my life,” he locked her in his gaze, as if saying, <em> it’s you. </em></p><p> </p><p>“But why did you agree to our break up, then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe, you <em> were </em> the love of my life,” he brushed a loose strand of hair to the back of her ear, “but <em> I </em>was not yours.”</p><p> </p><p>The lights from the outside of the bus had started to glow brighter, a sense of warmth crept inside, like the warmth of early morning sun, creeping in from the crack between a drawn window curtain. Piper understood. It was her sign to leave.</p><p> </p><p>“I need to get off the bus, don’t I?” Jason needed not to reply to her question, it was clear, but, still. “I don't want to get off the bus, Jason.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because it doesn’t hurt here and I don’t want to be in pain,” she said, holding dearly to his presence. “I’m scared. I don’t want to--”</p><p> </p><p>“Pipes,” he cut her off, placing a soft kiss on her lips, letting the silence set between them for a second for Piper to take a breath. “You have to be brave, for <em> me. </em>For Leo. For your dad.”</p><p> </p><p>A tear ran down her cheek, her first tear of the night. He wiped it away gently. </p><p> </p><p>“Please?” </p><p> </p><p>Piper nodded reluctantly. Gathering her strength to grab Jason’s hand for one last time, setting it down on the space between them. She stood up, her bare feet against the cold metal floor. </p><p> </p><p>“Tell me,” she asked. “Will it fade away? The pain. Will it subside?”</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>“But it will get better. Eventually, you will learn to live with it, to not let the pain be the only thing that your days are about, you will learn to be whole again, to love, to be happy.”</p><p> </p><p><em> I don’t want to learn to love again if it weren’t for you, </em>Piper wanted to say. Alas, she walked away. Taking every step excruciatingly slow. Threading the aisle carefully. Each stride grew heavier as the distance between them grew. Just before she could reach for the door, he called.</p><p> </p><p>“Pipes.”</p><p> </p><p>She turned around.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Good bye.” </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading :') this is my first time writing about them, i really hope i do the characters justice.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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